Procrastination, stress relief, whatever

Looky, I have cast on and am up to round 4 of the lace pattern for the Monkey socks!



As evidenced by the textbook crowding into the shot, I should be studying. Alas, I have nearly given up on this course and anticipate having to repeat the exam in March. The irony is that the work I'm doing at the job is actually at a much more advanced level than my course. Ugh. I hate irony.

FO: wrist warmers!

These are lovely, and completed just as the weather has gone from refreshing to uncomfortably crisp:



Project: Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 1.5 balls
Needle: US 6 circulars
Notes: Cast on 28 stitches for a snug fit, and three patterns repeats instead of two.

Untempted

The sweater, she has been wound back into balls.


I knit two inches on the yoke and definitely needed at least one more skein. Even though I found one on Ravelry in someone else's stash, in the end I just didn't love this sweater enough to keep moving on it.

I've learned enough over the past two years to see what didn't work about this particular pattern for me. Straight 2x2 ribbing is not particularly flattering to my square torso; I need something a little more patterned that adds the illusion of shape. I also look much better in a V-neck than any other style of neckline, and, in retrospect, an off-the-shoulder sweater was probably not the most practical of wardrobe items.

This is okay! This project has been sitting on the needles for nearly two years, and I'm glad it's over. I will happily use the yarn to make a pair of wrist warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, a Quickie Cowl, and maybe a Foliage hat.

Oh, wagon, why have you left me behind?

I was doing so well, I actually thought that stash busting might become a semi-permanent habit. HA HA, THANKS FOR PLAYING, say the yarn gods. It started last night, when I was looking for a long circular needle to magic loop my next pair of socks:



I ordered a 32 inch KnitPicks circular, US size 2, and a couple of skeins of Gloss in burgundy, because hey, I've never ordered from them before. And I finished off a scarf this week, removing three skeins of Noro Kureyon from the stash, so I was still at a net loss. But then, this morning, I had to check out Knitopia, which moved recently from White Rock to Langley, and somehow I fell into a pile of sock yarn.

This is the same sock yarn used to make the popular Monkey socks on Knitty. So soft.




And then I picked up some of this new Jojoland Melody, a 100% superwash wool from China.





I see the stash busting wagon, wayyyyyy off in the distance...

WIP: Tempting

I had to rip it back twice, but I finally managed to knit the sleeves on properly. I was rejoicing that I had a full ball and a half of yarn left over, and, um, then I remembered that there is a six-inch yoke to knit. Heh. Colour me brainless.

First Christmas gift of the season - done!

Yep, I got going again on the scarf this week. Train knitting rocks! People are fascinated by the concept of variegated yarn, and will not hesitate to talk to you about it. I gave my yarn label to a girl wearing a lovely basketweave scarf. Spread the Noro love!

Tonight I had a rare couple of free hours, so I sat down and finished off the scarf for my brother's fiancee. And here's my first attempt at modelling:



Project: My So-Called Scarf
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, colourway 164, 3 balls
Needle: US 11 circular

I suppose I should airbrush that chin zit-in-waiting...

KAL: Clean slate for 2008!

Barely any knitting, and no blogging in 2007! Wow, am I lame. So, I joined a knitalong on Ravelry to get some closure on a few projects.

Look! I have progress!



That's a whole three-inch sleeve and a one inch of the second sleeve, all since last night. I would have had them both done, except that I had to rip the first attempt, as the called-for number of stitches was way excessive for even my beefy bicep. This project might actually be done by the end of the week...(ack! jinx!)